I've heard horror stories about Oliveto's service so if it's important, you may think twice. I've only heard good (if not great) things aboutt he food but the service stories have kept me from being a regular.

Let me preface this by saying I've never been to Adagia -- nor have I ever heard of it (and my wife and I dine out frequently) -- so I'm not sure if this will be of any help.

OK, that said, I am far from being a "regular" at Oliveto's, but I eat there perhaps -- what, 4-6 times a year? We always do the truffle dinner there, and to their "whole hog" dinner. The rest of the time, it's usually more of a casual drop in and eat downstairs.

I have never had what I would call bad service at Oliveto's. I would say the service is somewhat "slow." Then again, I'm upstairs most often for their "special" meals and that can sometimes result in a harried staff. As a result, you sometimes have to ask for more water, or for a second look at the wine list (if I'm not bringing my own). But I've never had the waitstaff forget my food, spill soup in my lap, or ignore me . . .

I had lunch there a couple of months ago and had horrible (will never eat there again) service upstairs. Food was good. But the place wasn't very busy and we had lots of gaps in ordering, timing of dishes and drink service. For the price, no way is this restaurant worth it. As for the food, it's good, but not worth what they charge. There are lots of places in Berkeley that make food as good but with better staff.

Yeah, I've heard some other people say that too. I just didn't see it when I went there. Seems like Oliveto is a bit controversial, I've seen it debated here before. Some people really don't care for it. I certainly wouldn't put it on the same level as Chez Panisse. But this is subjective territory. Maybe a good topic to debate today.

Adagia is an odd place. It's a beautiful room with a view of a courtyard and dorms. When I was there students were going up and down the elevator all evening. Also, the restrooms are in the courtyard, not in the restaurant. The service was so-so. The host, not the waiter, remembered to bring us bread after we'd already received our entrees. The food was good, but I honestly can't remember much about it. I think it's less expensive than Oliveto.

Oliveto. The food is more imaginative and wonderfully prepared, the room more inviting and the service more professional, even when erratic (I think Adagia wait staff includes many students who are earnest but unpolished).